Food and frivolity in Tiverton

Ideas come to you at the most random moments, don't they? Today, for example, I was enjoying a latte and croissant when I suddenly had an idea. Welcome to Food and Frivolity, a random collection of musings about cake, games, books and fantasy-related stuff (because who doesn't like eating cake while gaming or reading??) I'm kicking off at The Independent Coffee Trader in Tiverton, Devon. Find out more about them here and follow them on Twitter here.  Leigh has been running the Independent Coffee Trader for nearly three years.

Pretty much the first thing I saw when I walked in today was this amazing cake:​

As well as garnering high praise from my 10 year-old for "the best sausage roll I have eaten in my life", Leigh, Mark and team also boast an impressive range of the most enticing cakes. Today's gem is Courgette and Avocado. Nestling under its dome, it is beautiful to look at, with a sprinkling of cornflower petals and pistachios in a bed of buttercream icing.​



​It was the flowers that sold it to me, plus the fact that the sponge looked incredibly moist. And when it arrived, it tasted every bit as good as it looked. Light sponge, very moist; filling, but not heavy on the stomach. It has a beautiful, rather mild flavour, neither courgette nor avocado - in fact, it reminded me very slightly of carrot cake, particularly in its consistency. The buttercream icing was perfection - again, not heavy and not too sweet; I find that some icings can be pretty sickly, but not this one! In addition, it's both gluten- and dairy-free. This cake is HIGHLY recommended and, like all the cakes they stock, it is made by hand.

So I asked Leigh and Mark how they choose what to stock and I have to say that their descriptions of catalogues and trade shows (plus a lot of samples) sounded like the dream job! The overall look of the cake is a big factor in the selections they make and they like anything a bit different. You won't find a plain Victoria sponge here, just a gorgeous selection of cakes that you may not have tried - or heard of - before. It's a chance to be adventurous and to venture out of your Cake Comfort Zone. A lot of their choices are customer-led, too. Plus, the coffee is as smooth and mellow as Stephen Fry's voice, the perfect complement to gorgeous cake.

So next time you're in Tiverton, why not head down Gold Street and see for yourself?

Many thanks to Leigh and Mark for taking the time to chat with me today!

 - Tracey
(top image is an open-source image frompixabay.com and the other two are my own)

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